Solid performance by the Sporting business led to the upswing in
earnings. However, the growth was partially offset by higher
interest expense.

GAAP earnings per share were $2.46 compared with $1.93 in the
prior-year quarter. The difference between pro forma and GAAP
earnings was due to transaction cost of 26 cents, deferred
financing cost of 12 cents and inventory step-up of 3 cents.

Total Revenue

Alliant's total revenue in the third quarter fiscal 2014 was $1.2
billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.0%.
Reported revenue also exceeded the year-ago figure by 14.4%.

Revenue increased on the back of Aerospace and Sporting Group
sales, partially offset by a decline in contribution from Defense
Group.

Defense Group:
This segment reported sales of $0.46 billion, down 10.4% year
over year, due to a sales decline at Armament Systems and Small
Caliber Systems divisions and from federal budget reductions.

Sporting Group:
This segment registered a substantial 78.2% increase in sales to
$0.53 billion from the prior-year quarter. This upside was driven
by the recent acquisitions of Savage and Bushnell.

Corporate and Other:
Corporate and other expenses totaled $22.0 million, up from $14.0
million in the prior-year quarter due to costs incurred from
acquisitions and a large portion of inter-company profit
eliminations. This was partially offset by lower pension expense.

Operational Highlights

Alliant's cost of sales was $0.92 billion in the fiscal third
quarter, up 9.9% from the year-ago quarter. Gross profit moved up
to $0.29 billion from $0.22 billion registered in the prior-year
period, indicating growth of 31.7%.

Total operating expenses in the reported quarter were up 27.0% to
$0.14 billion from $0.11 billion in fiscal third quarter 2013.
Higher expenses were attributed to a rise in selling and general
and administrative expenses.

Interest expenses totaled $28.5 million, up 102.5% year over year
due to debts issued in the reported quarter.

Cash provided by operating activities in the first nine months of
fiscal 2014 was $0.22 billion versus $0.12 billion in the
comparable year-ago period.

Alliant's capital expenditure was $80.6 million at the end of the
first nine months of fiscal 2014 versus $61.4 million in the
comparable period of the previous year.

Free cash flow for the third quarter was $0.14 billion compared
with $0.057 billion in the prior-year period

Share repurchases update

In the reported quarter, Alliant repurchased shares worth $4.0
million, bringing the total value of shares repurchased to $0.11
billion since the formation of a two-year share repurchase
program on Jan. 31, 2012. However, this repurchase program has
been extended until March 31, 2015.

Guidance

Alliant increased its sales forecast for fiscal 2014 to the range
of $4.73-$4.78 billion from the previous guidance of $4.68-$4.73
billion, taking into consideration its strong operating
performance from the Sporting Group segment.

Alliant's fiscal 2014 earnings expectation is now $9.50 to $9.80,
up from its previous guidance of $9.10 to $9.40, on the back of a
higher top line and lower expected tax rate.

Alliant expects fiscal 2014 free cash flow in the range of $0.22
billion to $0.24 billion, up from the previous guidance of $0.21
billion to $0.23 billion.